Twite
Linaria flavirostris
Stout little streaky brownish finch of open, often barren spaces. Easily overlooked. Note warm buffy tones (especially in autumn–winter) and pale bill (grayish in summer, yellowish in winter). Male has distinctive pale pink rump, usually covered by wings when perched. Wide range, from Western Europe to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Compare with other small streaky finches in areas of overlap. Like other finches, often forms flocks in autumn and winter. Listen for nasal twitters and chirrups.
Identification
The twite is similar in size and shape to a linnet, at 13 to 13.5 cm (5.1 to 5.3 in) long. It lacks the red head patch and breast shown by the linnet and the redpolls. It is brown streaked with black above, and a pink rump. The underparts are buff to whitish, streaked with brown. The conical bill is yellow in winter and grey in summer. The call is a distinctive twit, from which its name derives, and the song contains fast trills and twitters. Twites can form large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixed with other finches on coasts and salt marshes. They feed mainly on seeds.
Taxonomy
In 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the twite in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla flavirostris. The genus name linaria is the Latin for a linen-weaver, from linum, "flax" and flavirostris means "yellow-billed". The twite and the closely related linnets were at one time placed in the genus Carduelis but were moved to a separate genus Linaria based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences that was published in 2012.<p>There are 10 recognised subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Linaria flavirostris
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Linaria
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : low Arctic to temperate nw and montane c Palearctic in open areas: n, c British Is., w, n Scandinavia; disjunctly Caucasus and sc, ne Turkey e through sc Russia, n Kazakhstan, n, w Xinjiang (nw China) and Mongolia, in s nw Iran, c Afghanistan through Altai region, nw Himalayas e to Nepal and Tibet to Qinghai and Gansu (nc China)
- Non-breeding range
- to lower elevations and southward
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The twite breeds in northern Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia and China. Treeless moorland is favoured for breeding. It builds its nest in a bush, laying 5–6 light blue eggs. It is partially resident, but many birds migrate further south, or move to the coasts. It has declined sharply in parts of its range, notably in Ireland.<p>In the UK, the twite is the subject of several research projects in the Pennines, the Scottish Highlands and on the North Wales and Lancashire coastlines. Records show that the birds to the east of the Pennine hills move to the southeast coast in winter and those to the west winter between Lancashire and the Hebrides. The Welsh population winters almost exclusively in Flintshire. Ringing data has revealed that twite breeding in different parts of Britain use different non‐breeding areas, and that non-breeding areas of British twite do not overlap with non-breeding areas of continental twite.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Microcerculus ustulatus
Tiny, mouse-like bird of tepui forest understory. Entirely dark rufous-brown with a stubby tail. Found only in humid, mossy forest on tepui slopes, mostly above 1000 meters, where it is difficult to see, staying close to the ground as it crawls over roots, rocks, and large branches. Usually encountered alone and does not follow mixed-species flocks. Most easily detected by its extraordinary song: a variable series of short, pure whistles, rising and falling but usually ending with several notes on the same pitch; humanlike and easily imitated. May pop into view in response to imitation or playback, bobbing nervously before disappearing. Could be confused with Tepui Wren, but is darker brown overall and lacks buffy eyebrow.
Indian Roller
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Russet-crowned Quail-Dove
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A plump ground-dwelling dove with limited range in eastern Panama and barely into Colombia. Brownish above with a grayer breast, whitish face, and reddish legs. Namesake rufous crown is distinctive. Most common in foothills from around 750–1,600 m, but sometimes lower. Like other quail-doves walks stealthily on the forest floor, singly or in pairs. Perhaps most easily seen beside quiet trails early and late in the day. Heard more often than seen.
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